The Benefits of Knowing Publishers

Know Your Publishers

Why is knowing publishers important? Publishers make dozens of different comics at a time. How could that possibly help you find things you enjoy?

These are arguments I've heard a lot and ones that I completely understand. When you're first trying to get into comics, the overwhelming amount of choices makes it hard to look for things you may like. I've found that if you put things into smaller boxes, it makes them far less overwhelming. This is why I suggest looking at publishers.

For this page, I've listed most of the most well-known comic book publishers as well as 5 of their titles. I've tried to vary the genres within the list as well as include some well-known media along with some new things. This is just a small look at the genres and books published by some of the most well-known studios. 

Having a general knowledge of publishers is extremely helpful when you're looking for something to read. When people think of comics, they often only think of Marvel and DC, but there are so many other publishers that provide a huge variety of options for readers. Some of those options even include media that you're probably already familiar with.  Did you know that Marvel Comics also produces Star Wars comics? Did you know that you can read Adventure Time comics published by BOOM! Studios? How about reading some Critical Role comics from Dark Horse Comics? 

You never know what is out there until you look around. 

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Marvel Comics

Established: 1939
Previous Names: Timely Comics, Atlas Comics

Image Credit: MARVEL COMICS

    Cover Artists - The Amazing Spider-Man (Taurin Clarke), Star Wars: Darth Vader (Adi Granov), G.O.D.S. (Mateus Manhanini), The Haunted Mansion (Erik M. Gist), X-Men '97 (Dan Veesenmeyer)

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DC Comics

Established: 1935
Previous Names: National Comics Publications, National Periodical Publications

Image Credit: DC COMICS

    Cover Artists - Justice League (Jim Lee & Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair), Sandman (Dave McKean), Fables (James Jean), Birds of Prey (Leonardo Romero & Jordie Bellaire), Super Sons (Jorge Jiménez)

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Image Comics

Established: 1992

Image Credit: IMAGE COMICS

    Cover Artists - Saga (Fiona Staples), The Wicked + The Divine (Jamie McKelvie & Matt Wilson), Kick Ass vs Hit Girl (John Romita Jr.), Deadly Class (Wesley Craig), The Walking Dead (Charlie Adlard & Dave Stewart) 

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Valiant Comics

Established: 1989

Image Credit: VALIANT COMICS

    Cover Artists - The Valiant (Paolo Rivera), Unity (Doug Braithwaite), X-O: Manowar (Erica Henderson), Faith: Hollywood & Vine (Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic), Quantum and Woody: World's Worst Superhero Team (Ryan Sook)

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Archie Comics

Established: 1939

Previous Names: MLJ Magazines

Image Credit: ARCHIE COMICS

    Cover Artists - Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin' (Bill Golliher), Jughead (Erica Henderson), Best of Josie and the Pussycats (Dan DeCarlo), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Veronica Fish), Sonic the Hedgehog (Tracy Yardley)

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Dark Horse Comics

Established: 1986

Image Credit: DARK HORSE COMICS

    Cover Artists - Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (Arthur Adams & Dave Stewart), Stranger Things (Aleksi Briclot), Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins (Stjepan Šejić), Norse Mythology (Lovern Kindzierski), Aliens (Greg Land)

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IDW Publishing

Established: 1999

Image Credit: IDW PUBLISHING COMICS

    Cover Artists - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Tim Lattie), Star Trek: Godshock (Ramón Rosanas), Crashing (Morgan Beem), The Called Us Enemy (Harmony Becker), Transformers (Sara Pitre-Durocher)

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Boom! Studios

Established: 2005

Image Credit: BOOM! STUDIOS COMICS

    Cover Artists - Stuff Of Nightmares (Francesco Francavilla), Something is Killing the Children (Giovanna Niro), Adventure Time (Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb), The Avant-Guards (Veronica Fish), Smooth Criminals (Audrey Mok)

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Dynamite Entertainment

Established: 2004

Image Credit: DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT COMICS

    Cover Artists - The Boys (Darick Robertson), Battlestar Galactica (Sean Chen), Sherlock Holmes: Year One (Daniel Lindro), Xena: Warrior Princess (Neves), The Twilight Zone (Jonathan Lau)

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